Warning Long Post
Sunday 27th August - Comp day
This was a local novice competition at a gym in Ballarat. I entered the masters devision (over 40’s). The weights weren’t too heavy as the comp was meant for novices to have a go. I took my son with me to get him involved and also so he could be the official videographer for the day.
We got up around 5:45am, had some porridge oats and packed the bags. Needed to be there for 8.00am and it was a 90 min drive away. No traffic at that time on a Sunday morning so got here with no hassles.
Signed in and found a space to throw the bags, then just said hello to few people and waited for the briefing. Listened to the rules and running order for the day. As it was a novice comp they decided to keep the running order the same for all events. If you were first to register then you went last. That was lucky for me because I registered first out of the 5 guys in masters (me plus 4 more), so got to go last.
First event was a max log press. You got 3 attempts, 30 sec to complete the lift and only one try each time, so no retry if you missed it.
There were different size logs but based on weight chose you had to use the biggest. The 12 inch log was 75kg (165lbs) so I knew I would have to use that log.
Log warm up
50 kg (10 inch)
60 kg (10 inch)
75kg - 1 rep to feel the bigger log. It was very different and I knew the balance would be hard as it got heavier. Decided to open with 75kg to get a lift on the board and then chose the next weights based on how it felt.
First attempt - 75kg - this went up fine, no issues. Balance still felt very different from my log at home. Decided to be conservative and chose 80kg for my second.
Second attempt - 80kg - went up on, had to step back a little to catch the balance at the top. Decided to go for 85kg on the last.
Third attempt- 85kg - failed this one. Didn’t get enough leg drive and it got out in front of me a bit.
I won the event with my 80kg so was happy with that. The 12 inch log was much harder to balance than I expected. Need to practice on one.
Second event - Axle deadlift - on tyres - smooth axle - weight 130kg
I got to go last on this which meant I could see how the other guys went. The weight wasn’t too heavy so I know it would be who could rep the most.
The Other guys went 22 22 22 20 reps. I noticed that they all strapped in. You could use straps but couldn’t strap in before the time started. I decided to gamble and not strap as I figured it would be worth an extra rep. Grip started to go a couple of times on the smooth axle but was able to just re grip quickly at the bottom. Managed 23 reps. Minimum goal for the day was 20. Was super pumped with 23 and another win.
Third event was Farmers carry 20m into keg carry 20m.
Watched all the other guys go and they were all pretty smooth and quick. I knew I was going to have to be fast. Kept telling myself that smooth is fast and not to rush. Then when they said GO, I forgot all that and went too fast.
My farmers carry was like a one legged drunk in a hopping contest. Went too fast and took too big steps on the first 2 steps and then was all out of balance. The floor was sloped to one side and that threw me off even more. Luckily the handles were not heavy so I just bullied my way through. The keg carry was easy and pretty quick. Happy with that. I didn’t see the times for this one so not sure how I placed but my time was 21 sec.
Stones was the final event. It was 4 stones over a 1.2m bar. 60, 70, 80 and 90KG.
You then repped the last stone to the end of the 60 secs. I didn’t use any tacky for these as the weights were not too heavy. The stones were still sticky from everyone else’s tacky anyway.
I don’t have stones to practice on so this was an unknown for me. I watched the others go but didn’t pay much attention to their reps. I just went out and went for it.
I ended up getting the 4 and the doing 6 more reps with the last stone. Again not sure how I placed on this one. (Comp results will be on the gym Facebook page tomorrow so I will update then).
I was super happy with how the day went, other than the farmers everything went smoothly and I didn’t hold anything back.
I knew I had done ok with the 2 wins on the first 2 events but wasn’t sure where I had placed in the others. They read out the places 5th, 4th and when they called third and it wasn’t me,
I knew I was either first or second. They called second and it wasn’t me either! I was blown away, I was first place. My little boy was super happy, it was great seeing his little face when he realized I had won.
Awesome day out and a well run and organised event. Met some great people and got to cheer on and watch a load of other great guys and gals. Totally knackered now though, I am going to sleep well tonight.
